Renee's Looking with Intention

Looking With Love

Unsolicited Looking

Unequal Looking

For my three sketches, I depicted three types of looking, the kind that makes you feel loved and cherished, the kind that scares and victimizes you, and the one that shows the imbalance of power. Looking out for things in the world is important as we see signs and people that may change our perspective on the world. In addition to that, the act of looking is nuanced and filled with meaning and intention. The first look is between a mother and her baby; by looking at her child, she is reassuring them and showing unconditional love and affection, providing protection and safety in her arms. The closeness of the child and her mother is intimate and safe, the purest form of looking. The second image shows a stranger staring us down. We have seen this unhinged stare before, the unbreaking uncomfortable unsolicited stare that instantly makes a place unsafe. He breaks social norms by taking you all in and keeping your image in mind to do whatever he wants with it. This experience is very familiar to women as some men feel entitled to stare at their bodies. The last image of the homeless man and the bystander shows the power imbalance of looking. The passerby looks down at the homeless man to either help or look down on him; either way, an imbalance between them gives the person standing the most power, while the other man has nothing. Another interpretation can be that the man standing acknowledges the other man's struggle and stops to talk to him while others may walk away. The three drawings hold different meanings, as the power of looking can shift intentions. The Bell Hooks reading, "The Oppositional Gaze," states that there is power in looking as masters had power over their enslaved people as they could not gaze at them. There are many layers to consider when looking at another person. 

" An individual with a camera or a keyboard is now a non-profit one, and self-publishing is now a non-profit of one, and self-publishing is now the normal case." (Shirky, Pg. 79) 

- According to Shirky, with the invention of the internet, people can run their own newsreels and publish their own opinions at the click of a button. Unlike in the past when people had to use printing presses or publish through journalists and newspapers, more people have the accessibility to the press via their own blogs. It should not be surprising that people would share their writings without limitations. Why would people go to newspapers and printing presses when they could self-publish for their personalized audiences. 

" There is an intrusive hypocrisy here. A professional often becomes a gatekeeper, by providing a necessary or desirable social function but also by controlling that function." ( Shirky, Pg. 69) 

- Reading this in the context of journalism and photography is absurd. The fact that professions like scribes, printers, and journalists would be gatekept limits the freedom of those who want to participate in journalism and printing. Trade secrets have kept people from writing stories and publishing news that was not accepted into mainstream print. However, when blogs were first introduced with technology, it threatened the gate publishers created. There will always be journalists and photographers working in print. Still, it should not be seen as an overarching threat to professionals as it gives ordinary people the power to indulge in their journalism over blogging. 

"Crucially, these videos are providing an interpretation of the past. Both are making an implicit comment on the behavior of those actors." (Poppy Noor) 

-The Tik Tok videos featuring students dancing and making jokes about historical events make the subjects taught in class interesting and funny. Teenagers, including myself, are interested in history when it does not center around grades or tests. History is genuinely interesting outside of the classroom, and if students are moved by a Tik Tok about the German Empire in 1914, that means that they are learning. It shows how media can appeal to a younger audience and can be used to keep educational interests alive. 

"Crucially, these videos are providing an interpretation of the past. Both are making an implicit comment on the behavior of those actors." (Noor) 

- Watching historical Tik Toks can be funny if the students know the context. If anything, the Tik Toks reinforce the readings done in class and can benefit topics before important tests. Of course, the Tik Toks are an interpretation of the past; it's the only way creators can share information within a 15-second clip. Either way, students would know the full context of the historical event to find the video funny.